U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Tuesday touted the success of the federal crime crackdown in the District by pointing to a sizable drop in violent crime in the nation’s capital.
The District’s top prosecutor credited the White House’s public safety operation with driving down carjackings by 68%, homicides by 60% and robberies by 49% since National Guard troops and federal agents began patrolling the city last summer.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to President Trump for his unwavering commitment to law and order, his surge in federal law enforcement resources, bolstering our teams with additional agents, advanced tools and a no-nonsense mandate has been nothing short of transformative for the people in the district,” Ms. Pirro said at a Tuesday news conference.
“Under his leadership, we have seen a renewed focus on cracking down on violent offenders, dismantling criminal networks and restoring safety to our streets,” she said.
Ms. Pirro said there have been more than 8,400 arrests and 850 guns have been taken off the street in the nearly five months the crackdown has been ongoing.
She added that teen fatalities have been cut down dramatically, noting that 17 teenagers were slain prior to the federal surge but only two since the surge began in August.
The U.S. Attorney said the decline in crime last year was actually sharper than the drop presented by Metropolitan Police’s statistics because the department had fudged its previous numbers.
Ms. Pirro was acknowledging the probe into Metropolitan Police’s crime data, which partly inspired Mr. Trump to launch his crime-fighting mission in the District.
A report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused former Police Chief Pamela A. Smith of orchestrating the scheme, saying she bullied her staff into downgrading offenses to make the city appear less crime-plagued.
In Ms. Smith’s farewell address last month, she blasted Republican lawmakers over the accusations and said she would never sacrifice her integrity over crime numbers.
But the top prosecutor said some aggravated assault or endangerment with a firearm charges brought to her office also qualified for the more serious offense of assault with a deadly weapon.
Ms. Pirro further mentioned how, under her new leadership, fewer than 10% of all cases have not been prosecuted. She said it’s a far cry from where the U.S. Attorney’s office was three years ago, when nearly 70% of cases were not being pursued by prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney did say there was a large spike in strangulation cases in the city — up nearly 60% in 2025.
“Let it be known to the women in this district that if a man puts a hand on your neck, or in any way restricts or prevents you from breathing, you are in serious danger, and it is time to leave,” Ms. Pirro said.
She urged victims of the attacks to get in touch with her office so they can find a way out of these relationships.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.